


Spatial Delivery

by BeautifulSolo



Category: NU'EST, Produce 101 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Space, BaekMin, M/M, Robot!Minhyun, Robots, Science And Realism Are Not Welcome Here, Some Swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-06
Updated: 2018-08-06
Packaged: 2019-06-22 13:38:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15583158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeautifulSolo/pseuds/BeautifulSolo
Summary: The Lunar Hub Laboratory needs a Very Important Package delivered, and Minhyun is just the android for the job. There is the little problem of him not knowing how to pilot a ship, but that’s where interstellar courier-for-hire Kang Dongho enters the picture. The tale of two boys on the road trip of a lifetime, except one of the boys is a robot, and the road is space.





	Spatial Delivery

“I understand the need to send a representative along, but...a robot? Are you really sure? I mean, I’m uh, not exactly a mechanic…”

 

“Well, I’m not a doctor. If something  _ does _ go wrong out there, we can be useless together.”

 

“You won’t need to worry about a thing, Mr Kang.” As the Facility Director shot their visitor a reassuring smile, Minhyun sensed it was time for him to step back and observe. His input was no longer needed. “Minhyun has been selected as your travel companion for the purposes of maximum convenience - he cannot crash, contract viruses, or require reprogramming. He will not require any maintenance from you, and only needs minimal sustenance to operate at full functionality. All  _ you _ need to concern yourself with is transporting the delivery to its final destination, and he will handle the rest.”

 

“Uh.” The visitor coughed, fingertips fiddling at the hem of his jacket. It was rather endearing, actually, considering the Tough Guy look he had going on. “Okay.”

 

“Robots can be a little odd when you aren’t used to them, but I’d say they’re far less hassle on a long voyage than proper human cargo, wouldn’t you agree? Not quite so delicate, fewer needs and such to worry about.” During this whole exchange, Minhyun just smiled serenely. But he didn’t miss the way the visitor glanced over to him, then. He stayed silent.

 

It wasn’t his time to speak, after all.

 

Their guest - Kang Dongho, if he remembered correctly - was every bit the image Minhyun had of a courier. He was rough-looking, heavily tattooed with pierced ears and strong, imposing features. His clothing was practical, scuffed and smudged in places in stark contrast to the gleaming metal walls and floor of the meeting room they were currently in, to the pristine white coats worn by the laboratory staff. His hands looked rough, too - not a bot mechanic, perhaps, but certainly indicative of a man who knew his way around a ship.

 

But then...those hands also fidgeted in his lap as the Facility Director continued to speak. Those imposing features softened with curiosity, Minhyun able to feel the man’s eyes on him as if scanning him over for some obvious physical  _ HELLO I AM A ROBOT  _ marker that he may have missed. (And what a novelty it was, considering Minhyun had spent his entire life surrounded by people who could discern a robot from any other human at a single glance.)

 

Minhyun may have been staring too much like a weirdo (not that Dongho hadn’t been staring back at him, but still…) but he had a strange, perhaps overly optimistic feeling where his gut would be that the courier wasn’t going to be as thuggish as he appeared. Maybe travelling with him wouldn’t be so bad.

 

He hoped so - it was due to be a long journey, all the way to another star system, and while this seemed to be all in a day’s work for their guest it was very exciting for Minhyun, who had never left the Lunar Hub Laboratory before.

 

He’d tuned out the conversation, really. He just had to stand there and look nice while the Actual Scientists explained to Dongho what they needed him to do. This part was all stuff Minhyun knew already - the  _ what _ s and the  _ where _ s and the  _ who _ s and the  _ when _ s. While the humans in the room went over a map of the expected route, Minhyun let his gaze flick between Dongho and the window, out at his favourite blue planet in the distance. He probably wouldn’t get to see it for a while.

 

“Anyway,” he was snapped out of his daydreaming by a sudden, firm edge to the Facility Director’s voice, indicating it was time for Minhyun to pay attention again. “With introductions made, you should probably get going, Minhyun. We just need to discuss the matter of payment with Mr Kang, and everything will be set until your departure date.”

 

“Got it.” Rather than step back, however, Minhyun stepped forward. He put out his left hand, just to be contrary, making sure the courier got a good look at the large metal serial number plate embedded in the back of it. A pause, and once he was sure by Dongho’s expression that he’d seen what he needed to, Minhyun switched hands. “Ah, whoops. Anyway, it’s nice to meet you.”

 

Dongho shook Minhyun’s hand. “Um. Likewise. And uh, if there’s any basic Robot 101 stuff I should know before we head out, let me know.”

 

A cough from Minhyun’s side. “That won’t be necessary, Mr Kang. Really. Just concern yourself with you and your ship’s condition, and meet us at the hangar at the date and time we agreed on. That’s all we ask of you.”

 

With a little wave and a  _ see you then _ , Minhyun took his leave. Once the door closed behind him, he leaned back against it with a soft exhale before making his way back to the android quarters.

 

After all, he had a lot to prepare.

  
  


~oOo~

  
  


When Minhyun was chosen to accompany the Super Special Important Delivery, he couldn’t help but feel a little bit honoured.

 

Sure, they were  _ obviously _ going to send one of the robots, because all of the human scientists had projects and research to commit to, and the robots were just...more expendable, generally. It would be more work for those left behind, considering they’d only recently activated a new robot to take on the duties of one undergoing repair, but they could handle it. They were built to handle it. But still, they chose  _ Minhyun _ out of all the robots they had at the Lunar Hub, and that made him feel just a bit special. It was nice.

 

_ “We’re hiring an interstellar courier to deliver our energy core prototype to the Xargonian Orbital Station, out in the Inonis System,” _ one of the researchers had told Minhyun one day. The android had just nodded, having no idea what they were talking about. The robots were generally...not privy to that kind of information unless it directly related to a job they were assigned to.  _ “And due to the sensitive nature of the delivery, we need someone to accompany it to ensure it gets to its destination safely. That someone is going to be you.” _

 

_ “I have no idea what this energy core prototype is,”  _ was Minhyun’s rather blunt reply.

 

_ “Then you can learn. We’re still searching for a courier, so you have time.” _

  
  


As it turned out, Minhyun had a  _ lot _ of time to carry out his research. It seemed like nobody, anywhere in the Solar System, was willing to take on the job for some reason. There were too many  _ what if _ s.

 

_ “Money, maybe?”  _ Jinyoung hummed thoughtfully as the two androids reorganised one of the filing cabinets together. He was getting better at sounding natural like that, considering he’d only been activated a few weeks prior and hadn’t finished his socialisation procedures yet.  _ “They might just want more money.” _

 

_ “Or perhaps the distance involved?” _ One of the new interns piped up, smiling apologetically for his interruption and handing Jinyoung another folder of, as far as Minhyun knew, nonsensical scientific documents.  _ “The Inonis System is  _ very _ far away. It means travelling through a warp gate, and that’s said to be a pretty uncomfortable experience.” _

 

_ “Probably the background check,”  _ was Seongwoo’s theory, _ “I heard couriers can be pretty shady, especially freelancers. And they need to own their own ship for this job, too, right? It’s all well and good weeding out the questionable ones; not so much when that’s everyone.” _

 

As Minhyun quietly took minutes for a meeting with an alloy supplier, one researcher muttered to another,  _ “We’re having no luck. I think we worded the advertisement too vaguely...It’s too risky to divulge excessive information about the delivery, but without it, more trustworthy couriers may be hesitant to accept our offers…” _

  
  


_ “Maybe...it’s me?”  _ Minhyun sighed to his companion for cleaning duty in one of the labs, long after working hours had ended. The little vacuuming machine just  _ bleep _ ed in response, and proceeded to smack into Minhyun’s foot mistaking it for some debris.  _ “Living cargo...might be working against us. _ ” He knew it wasn’t his fault, and it wasn’t like  _ not _ sending a representative (human or otherwise) was an option  _ at all _ , but it still stung, just a bit.

 

Still, he had to go. He had to babysit the energy core prototype - which by this point, he’d discovered was pretty important. What it was for, he didn’t completely understand, but his only instruction was to guard it with his life. And he couldn’t do that if he didn’t go.

 

Just as Minhyun crouched down to pet the little cleaning machine affectionately and turn it back around to the direction it actually needed to go, the doors to the lab opened. Minhyun tuned in to the researchers’ conversation while pretending to focus all of his attention on the task at hand.

 

_ “They still haven’t found someone to deliver the core, right?” _

 

_ “Of course they haven’t - I wouldn’t go to Inonis for that kind of money. There’s too much going on there right now. If I were a courier they’d need to offer twice, maybe three times that much.” _

 

_ “Couriers might be a little more reckless than we are...but you might be right. It’s a little turbulent out there. I wouldn’t want to be an outsider with a valuable package in a place like that.” _

 

_ “Exactly. For the price they’re paying, any takers are going to be either desperate or completely unhinged.” _

 

_ “You two are exaggerating...it’s not that bad there.” _

 

_ “Do  _ you _ want to take the chance?” _

 

Minhyun paused. His hands fumbled uselessly with the pile of experimental waste he was supposed to be gathering up, pushing it around the worktop without actually achieving anything. That...didn’t sound good.

 

_ “Well, it’s just that - a chance. Everything’s a game of chance out here. A solar flare could take us all out right now if it fancied. We don’t plan all our decisions around it. I don’t have a spacecraft license, though, so I couldn’t take on the task even if I wanted to.” _

 

_ “But still…” _

 

_ “Hey, we knew there were going to be some risks. That’s why we’re sending one of the bots.” _

 

The researchers stopped in their tracks when the small cleaning machine hummed across their path, and again when they glanced up to see Minhyun packing the waste into a box, serene smile across his face.

 

Gravity was carefully controlled in the Lunar Hub, but somehow, the air felt heavy anyway.

 

They looked around, just about anywhere but Minhyun’s direction, before grabbing a pile of documents and leaving swiftly. The cleaning bot beeped in annoyance as it tried to vacuum up a dropped pencil left in their wake.

 

Thinking hard, Minhyun stayed in the lab until his companion  _ bleep _ ed with exhaustion.  _ Please charge me _ .

 

 

~oOo~

 

 

It took many, many weeks, several rewrites, much despair on the part of the laboratory staff, and a hefty increase in the projected payment amount, but it eventually happened.

 

_ “We finally have a taker for the core delivery job,”  _ a researcher in a white coat, barely glancing up from her clipboard, announced from the doorway of the android quarters. It took a while for Minhyun to register that this information was, in fact, for him.  _ “Mars-based, comes up clean on the background check. As long as he doesn’t seem too weird at the preliminary meeting, you should probably be prepared to leave sooner rather than later.” _

 

And so Minhyun continued to prepare. Seongwoo would quiz him on the properties of the energy core prototype when they were supposed to be sleeping, lying awake uselessly in the dark instead of resting. Jinyoung would ask him almost every single day when he was going on his big trip, looking more than a little sad when Minhyun would tell him ‘soon’. The courier, Kang Dongho, turned out to be perfectly not-weird at their meeting, and the mission was given the all clear. Minhyun’s translator functions were tested, re-tested, then tested all over again.

 

Until, the night before departure, he had to pack.

 

“Knock knock,” a cheery voice at Minhyun’s bedroom door, before the door slid open to reveal Seongwoo standing there. He quickly made himself at home in the little room, like he always did, flopping onto Minhyun’s bed with a little  _ oof  _ for emphasis. “Still packing? What do you even need to take, anyway? It’s not like you’re gonna get through clothes all that fast.”

 

“Toolkit, in case I break something,” Minhyun gestured vaguely at the small box beside him on the floor, not yet packed into his (also small) case. “A few changes of clothes, just in case; some gifts for the courier on behalf of the lab, the energy core itself, given to me today…” Seongwoo raised his eyebrows as if to say  _ and why didn’t you show me?  _ To which Minhyun replied, “already securely packed, sorry. Anyway, I’ve packed my personal tablet, too. It’s a long trip, and might get boring. I can download some new content for it when we stop at the Martian and Ino-Ohsa labs along the way, if I run out.” 

 

Seongwoo merrily rummaged through Minhyun’s little case, before his hand settled on another metal box. Slim and rectangular. “Minhyun,” his tone was blank, “aren’t these your blueprints? What do you need those for?”

 

“Oh. Yeah. Those. Just on the off chance I take some major damage and need reassembly. You never know.”

 

“You’d let a stranger see those?” The other android waggled his eyebrows around so much, Minhyun marveled that they hadn’t gotten stuck in position at any point. “My my, you really are shameless.”

 

Minhyun just shrugged. “I let Daehwi see them earlier. He was observing my last-minute maintenance check, so I figured, hey, why not? It’s educational. And who else is going to let him see theirs, anyway? Jinyoung?”

 

The strange sound Seongwoo made in response was probably some kind of glitch in his voice box that was originally supposed to be some kind of laugh. He really needed to get that looked at. “The intern, right? Jinyoungie would short-circuit from embarrassment if Daehwi saw his prints.” He shook his head. “Or anyone, really. He’s not an exhibitionist like you. Anyway, I guess maintenance gave you the all clear for the journey?”

 

“Yep.” Minhyun gave him a thumbs up. “Or should that be  _ affirmative _ ?”

 

“Damn. There goes my last shot at taking your place.” Seongwoo grinned, and began putting Minhyun’s belongings back in the suitcase. He was making a complete mess of it, and Minhyun would have to repack everything from scratch after the other robot left the room, but Minhyun chose not to say anything. After all, Seongwoo’s metaphorical heart was in the right place. “Have fun. Take pictures. Don’t let the courier treat you badly.”

 

“Oh, I won’t. I’m made of tougher stuff than he is.” Minhyun beamed back while Seongwoo made That Noise again. “Humans are squishy. I can take care of myself.”

 

“We’ll miss you. A lot.” Seongwoo’s tone suddenly turned serious, and Minhyun, despite completing his socialisation procedures a long time ago, wasn’t entirely sure how to react. So he did the next best thing - stare blankly. “ _ Bzzt, humour drivers back online _ . Come back quickly so Jinyoung and I aren’t swamped with your workload, asshole.”

 

“I will~ You’ll come along to the hangar tomorrow to say goodbye, right? Jinyoungie already said he would.”

 

“Hm, if I feel like it. Might not want to.” He dumped Minhyun’s toolkit in the case and fastened it with a flourish, like Minhyun wouldn’t have to redo the whole thing later on. “I  _ might _ feel like it a little more if you tell me again where you’re going to go. We’re all going to be living vicariously through you, you know.”

 

And Minhyun did know, which was why he sat with Seongwoo telling him the projected route for his little adventure all over again until long after he had intended to go to bed. He could pack again in the morning.

 

 

~oOo~

 

 

Minhyun never really left the Lunar Hub Laboratory, not even to explore the rest of the hub. The free time he did have, he spent in the android quarters or pottering around the lab trying to be helpful. So just heading to the hangar on The Big Day was exciting enough by itself, let alone actually  _ getting on a ship and leaving the entire Moon _ afterwards.

 

“Aww, you really do care!”

 

“What if I’m not here for you? What if I’m here to look for that cute mechanic who works here?”

 

“Seongwoo is lying. He’s here to say goodbye to you.”

 

“Jinyoung!”

 

“I’ll miss you.” Minhyun wrapped his arms around Jinyoung in a tight hug - the researchers, Facility Director and, he assumed, Dongho, were closer to Dongho’s ship, so he could afford to be a little more relaxed. “Work hard on your socialisation procedures, be nice to the intern, and look after the cleaning bots while I’m gone, alright?”

 

Jinyoung nodded, expression entirely serious. He was still at the point of taking most of what Minhyun said to him to heart, which was nice, considering Seongwoo never listened to Minhyun at all. “What do I have to do?”

 

“Just encourage them. They’re doing their best, just like you~”

 

Seongwoo pouted. “And where’s my hug?”

 

He could have made some kind of sardonic response, but Minhyun could hear his name being called by the Facility Director, so instead he just hugged Seongwoo tightly. He didn’t want to cry, not when it would be a waste of his liquid reserves. With another  _ ‘miss you’ _ , he held out his left hand, blinking a little when Seongwoo and Jinyoung tapped their serial number plates against his. A quiet  _ ‘miss you too’.  _ It was...bittersweet, an all-too-short goodbye. Still, he didn’t need the human cohort to know that. He had a job to do.

 

After lightly touching under his eyes to make sure no errant tears had fallen, he grabbed his case and hurried over to where the humans were waiting for him.

 

He straightened his posture. “All ready to go.”

 

“Good. We were just going over the route with Mr Kang one last time, but you’ll have all the information he needs if he has any further questions, won’t you, Minhyun?” Minhyun nodded, despite this being a total and complete lie. “And you have the core?” Nod. “And the other things you were entrusted with yesterday?”  _ Nod _ . “Excellent. Mr Kang, I implore you not to worry about having Minhyun on board - he will be taking care of the deliveries and dealing with the pickups at the Martian and Ino-Ohsa laboratories, while all you need to do is transport him safely.”

 

Minhyun felt a little like another piece of cargo to be packed into the ship, but didn’t let it show, just quietly nodding along as the last few instructions were relayed to the courier. After that...it would be time to leave.

 

“I’m ready when you are, Mr Kang.” Minhyun used his best Professional Robot voice, giving the researchers an aside glance just to make sure he was doing the right thing.

 

Dongho, dressed similarly to how he had been for their first meeting, smiled awkwardly. “Just Dongho is fine. And uh, yeah, we’re ready to go. No business to take care of here?”

 

“None at all.” It wouldn’t have mattered even if he did have any.

 

“Okay, awesome. Let’s go.”

 

Minhyun pursed his lips, looking up at the spacecraft in front of him. It was...pretty big, actually. A little roughed up in places, but more than suitable for two human...oids. And various cargo. He glanced around, giving his robot friends a last little wave (and a last respectful nod to the researchers) before, with a series of  _ clanks _ , he made his way up into the ship.

 

He may not have had a heart to pound anxiously in his chest, but the sentiment was there, anyway.


End file.
